Gustav Line

The Gustav Line was a German defensive line constructed in 1943 in central Italy, running from the mouth of the Garigliano River in the Tyrrhenian Sea, into the Apennines, and to the mouth of the Sangro River in the Adriatic Sea. The Gustav Line was one of the many fortified lines constructed by Nazi Germany during World War II, and the key strongpoint was the old Catholic monastery on Monte Cassino. From December 1943 to June 1944, the Axis forces held the Allied Powers by the Gustav Line, and the Allies would eventually break through the line after a landing at Anzio and a series of assaults on Monte Cassino. On 4 June 1944, the Allies entered Rome after suffering 98,000 losses, while the Axis lost 60,000 men; the Germans fell back to the Gothic Line.